An exercise machine |
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申请号 | EP03425683.4 | 申请日 | 2003-10-21 | 公开(公告)号 | EP1413334A1 | 公开(公告)日 | 2004-04-28 |
申请人 | TECHNOGYM S.p.A.; | 发明人 | Alessandri, Nerio; Manaresi, Enrico; Fabbri, Gianmatteo; | ||||
摘要 | An exercise machine, of the type used for gymnastic or rehabilitative exercises, comprises a combination of: a frame (2); dynamic means (3), supported by the frame (2), interacting with a user for the performance of gymnastic or rehabilitative exercises; means (4) for generating an air flow around the user; essence diffuser means (5) which can be combined with the generator means (4) to allow the generated air flow to be scented, when required. | ||||||
权利要求 | |||||||
说明书全文 | The present invention relates to an exercise machine, in particular an exercise machine provided with supplementary accessories that can be combined together in order to achieve a more effective and natural performance of the physical exercise. Currently available exercise machines are usually used for physical exercise, rehabilitation or whenever a user or athlete wants to perform an aerobic type exercise: for example, the so-called "treadmill" simulates a walking or running action while a "bike" simulates the action that can be performed on a bicycle. Machines of the above-mentioned type (whether they are machines for use in gymnasiums or at home) attempt, by various means, to reproduce as faithfully as possible the natural reaction of the elements with which the human body interacts, in order to make the exercise performed on the machine as similar as possible to the simulated activity in question. In this context, that is the simulation of a physical activity, especially the more modern machines try to emphasize the positive aspects of the exercise and to limit the possible disadvantages, so that the aim of the training or rehabilitation is to achieve the benefits deriving from the specific physical activity, limiting as much as possible the effect of the negative characteristics that may be present in the natural performance of the exercise. From this point of view, the fact that these machines are, in a word, static means that they are unable to simulate, as realistically as possible, the presence of whatever the user or athlete normally encounters in the surrounding environment, for example sensations, when he or she goes for a run or rides a bicycle: in other words a more marked sensory "virtualisation" within the framework of physical exercise on static type machines. A known solution to attempt to improve this situation is disclosed in the US patent 5.102.380, in which a treadmill type exercise machine is fitted with a fan, powered by the drive of the endless belt, to direct a flow of air towards the user, that is in the opposite direction to the direction in which the user is running. This solution obviously adds something to this type of machine, but is limited to the simple presence of a flow of air oriented towards the user during the exercise. The aim of the present invention is to provide an exercise machine equipped with a series of accessories which form sensory type elements designed to simulate a greater degree of realism in performance of the exercise through integrations and combinations on the machine without, however, altering the normal structure of the machine. The aim is achieved by means of an exercise machine, of the type used for gymnastic or rehabilitative exercises, comprising the following combination: a frame, dynamic means supported by the frame and interacting with a user for the performance of gymnastic or rehabilitative exercises; generator means of a flow of air around the user and essence diffuser means, which can be combined with the generator means to allow the air flow to be scented, when required. The technical features of the present invention, in accordance with the above-mentioned aims, are set out in the claims herein and the advantages more clearly illustrated in the detailed description which follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention without limiting the scope of the inventive concept, and in which:
In accordance with the figures in the accompanying drawings, and with particular reference to Figures 1 and 2, the machine in question is used for gymnastic or rehabilitative exercises. In the accompanying figures, the machine is the endless belt type, known in the sector jargon as a "treadmill", although this does not limit the generic nature of the solution which can be applied to any type of exercise machine or equipment. This machine, in fact, comprises in general the following combination: a frame 2; dynamic means 3 supported by the frame 2, interacting with a user for the performance of the gymnastic or rehabilitative exercises (according to the type of machine); generator means 4 of a flow of air around the user and essence diffuser means 5 which can be combined with the generator means 4 in order to allow the generated air flow to be scented, when required. As already stated, and to simplify the description of the solution, the machine 1 illustrated is the endless belt type and comprises: the frame 2; two rollers 11 and 12 supported by the frame 2 and parallel to each other; an endless belt 13 associated with the frame 2, mounted on the rollers 11 and 12 and forming the dynamic means 3. The belt 13 moves at a speed V (see the relative arrow V in Figure 2) along a closed path and by drive means 6 schematized in Figures 1 and 2, since they are the known type and usually consist of an electric motor. The generetor means 4 of the flow of air around a user and the essence diffuser means 5 can be combined to allow scenting of the air. The generator means 4 of the flow of air can consist of at least one fan (schematised with a block in Figures 1 and 2) power-driven by the drive means 6 of the belt 13. In accordance with what is illustrated in Figure 3, the diffuser means 5 can comprise a filtering element 5f for the essence and which can be combined with the air flow generator means 4. The diffuser means 5 can also comprise a cartridge 5c of the chosen essence, which can be inserted in the filtering element that can be fitted close to the fan 4 to allow its use, when required. In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the frame 2 is equipped with a protective guard 7 covering a part of the belt 13 and a supplementary structure 14 positioned above the belt 13. This structure 14 can support and protect the handgrips 15 and the control panel 16 of the exercise machine (1). The protective guard 7, and in particular the structure 14, can house the fan 4 in correspondence with at least one opening 8 for the discharge of the air flow generated by the fan 4. The diffuser means 5 can be can be fitted directly on the opening 8 with relative non-permanent locking means 9. As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the machine 1, that is the protective guard 7 and the supplementary structure 14 can obviously have a plurality of openings 8 corresponding with the relative fans 4 in order to discharge relative air flows around the user of the machine. In this case too, the diffuser means 5 can be fitted on each opening (8) with relative non-permanent locking means 9. In the non-restricting example shown in Figure 3, the opening 8 can be equipped with at least one adjustable flap 8a, while the locking means 9 can consist of snap-in support walls 9a of the filtering element 5f which can be associated, on both sides, with the flap 8a. The filtering element 5f can also be equipped with a slot 5a to discharge the air and the essence towards the user. The possibility of changing the filtering element 5f makes it possible to change the type of essence to be used according to the user's preferences or physical requirements, such as for example the possibility of using mainly aromatic type essences, or balsamic type essences to allow better respiration during the exercise. An exercise machine of this type therefore achieves the preset aims thanks to a simple but effective combination of air flow and essence diffusion means inside a traditional machine structure. In olfactory terms, the use of essences makes it possible to achieve greater virtualisation of the exercise through smells that are similar to naturalistic areas (marine or woodland settings, etc.) or, alternatively, respiration can be improved by using balsamic type essences. The invention described can be subject to numerous modifications and variations without thereby departing from the scope of the inventive concept. Moreover, all the details of the invention may be substituted by technically equivalent elements. |